SCREEN PRINTING

Screen-printing is the most flexible printing process. It can be used to print on a wide
variety of substrates, including paper, paperboard, plastics, glass, metals, fabrics, and
many other materials including paper, plastics, glass, metals, nylon and cotton. Some
common products from the screen-printing industry include posters, labels, decals,
signage, and all types of textiles and electronic circuit boards. The advantage of screen-
printing over other print processes is that the press can print on substrates of any
shape, thickness and size.

An important characteristic of screen-printing is that a greater thickness of ink can be

applied to the substrate as compared to the other printing techniques. This allows for
various interesting effects that cannot be achieved through the other printing methods.
Because of the simplicity of the application process, a wider range of inks and dyes are
available for use in screen-printing than for use in any other printing process.

Utilization of screen printing presses has begun to increase because production rates
have improved. This has been a result of the development of the automated and rotary
screen printing press, improved dryers, and U.V. curable ink. The major chemicals used
in screen-printing include screen emulsions, inks, and solvents, surfactants, caustics
and oxidizers used in screen reclamation.

Overview of the Screen Printing Process

Screen-printing consists of three elements

 The screen which is the image carrier

 The squeegee

 Ink

The screen printing process uses a porous mesh stretched tightly over a frame made of
wood or metal. Proper tension is essential for accurate color registration. The mesh is
made of a porous fabric or stainless steel. A stencil is produced on the screen either
manually or photo chemically. The stencil defines the image to be printed. In other
printing technologies this is referred to as the image plate.
Screen printing ink is applied to the substrate by placing the screen over the material.
Ink with a paint-like consistency is placed onto the top of the screen. Ink is then forced
through the fine mesh openings using a squeegee that is drawn across the screen,
applying pressure thereby forcing the ink through the open areas of the screen. Ink will
pass through only in areas where no stencil is applied, thus forming an image on the
printing substrate. The diameter of the threads and the thread count of the mesh will
determine how much ink is deposited onto the substrates.
Many factors such as composition, size and form, angle, pressure, and speed of the
blade (squeegee) determine the quality of the impression made by the squeegee. At
one time most blades were made from rubber, which, however, had a tendency to warp
and distort. While blades continue to be made from rubber such as neoprene, most of
them are now made from polyurethane, which can produce as many as 25,000
impressions without significant degradation of the image.
If the item is to be printed on a manual or automatic screen press the printed product
will be placed on a conveyor belt, which carries the item into the drying oven or through
the UV curing system. Rotary screen presses feed the material through the drying or
curing system automatically. Air-drying of certain inks, though rare in the industry, is still
sometimes utilized.
The rate of screen-printing production was once dictated by the drying rate of the
screen print inks. As a result of improvements and innovations in the printing
technology, the production rate has greatly increased. Some specific innovations, which
affected the production rate and have also increased screen press popularity include:
 Development of automatic presses versus hand operated presses, which have
comparatively slow production time.

 Improved drying systems, which significantly improve production rate.

 Development and improvement of U.V. curable ink technologies

 Development of the rotary screen press, which allows continuous operation of

the press. This is one of the recent technology developments.

Screen Preparation
Screen (or image transfer) preparation includes a number of steps. First the customer
provides the screen printer with objects, photographs, text, ideas, or concepts of what
they wish to have printed. The printer must then transfer a "picture" of the artwork to be
printed into an image which can then be processed and eventually used to prepare the
screen stencil.
Once the artwork is transferred to a positive image that will be chemically processed
onto the screen fabric (applying the emulsion or stencil) and eventually mounted onto a
screen frame that is then attached to the printing press and production begins.
HAND SCREEN PRINTING
The silk screen is a wooden or aluminum frame with a fine nylon or silk mesh stretched
over it. The mesh is coated with a light sensitive emulsion or film, which - when dry - will
block the holes in the mesh. The image that needs to be printed is output to film either
by camera or image-setter. This film positive and the mesh on the screen are
sandwiched together and exposed to ultraviolet light in a device called a print-down
frame. The screen is then washed with a jet of water which washes away all the light
sensitive emulsion that has not been hardened by the ultraviolet light. This leaves you
with an open stencil which corresponds exactly to the image that was supplied on the
film. Next the fabric to be printed is pinned on a wooden table so that it is evenly
stretched and there are no ripples.

Alternatively a wax table is used. The surface of the table is covered with wax. Below
there are a network of pipes through which steam is passed. This causes the wax to
soften and the fabric is just firmly pressed on to the table. The wooden frame of the
screen is fitted with metal handles which will fit onto to corresponding wooden
protrusions on the table. This is to aid placement, when two or more colors are being
used. The dye is poured on the screen A rubber blade with a wooden handle is firmly
pulled across the top of the screen; it pushes the ink through the mesh onto the surface
of the fabric which is being printed. Another person stands at the other side of the table.
He takes hold of the rubber blade and repeats the process.
Since the nonprinting areas on the silk screen are blocked out, the ink is pushed
through only the porous areas corresponding to the design and is thus transferred to the
fabric. If more colors are used, the process is repeated with another screen and color.
The screen is always washed with a lot of water immediately after use. If this is not
done, the dye dries on the screen and clogs up the design.